Dragons on Board, Dragons in DC
by byrhthelm
Summary: Set after Dancing in DC and Washington Weenie Wings, but still before Oops! Harm returns to DC from the Seahawk and makes a phone call.


**Dragons at Sea, Dragons in DC**

Harm closed the apartment door behind and dropped his sea-bag on the floor next to the side table where he had tossed his cover. He closed his eyes briefly and leaned back against the door trying to relax.

Forcing himself upright again he stood for a moment considering his immediate priorities. He badly needed a shower, the vagaries of the Air Force's Air Mobility Command had meant that he, Meg Austin and Commander Krennick had been in transit for more than nineteen hours in a C-17 from Naples to Andrews AFB via Ramstein in Germany and Mildenhall in England. But he also needed something edible and fairly quickly. There had been some sort of SNAFU and no rations had been loaded onto the aircraft at any point in the journey.

But most importantly, he needed to call Beth, to let her know that he was back state-side and barring unforeseen circumstances, he would be here at the weekend. And now as Beth was nearing the end of her OpCon school at Oceana, and in anticipation of her successful completion of the school in just over three weeks time, the need to spend every spare moment with her, without being derelict in his duties, was Harm's current main driving force.

A glance at his watch told him, however, that it was a little too early yet to call her. She would either still be in class, or possibly even still flying, and then she'd need to grab a bite to eat before settling down to study for the evening. A quick calculation and a weighing of all these factors decided him. He ha time to shower and eat before making the phone call to Oceana. The decision made he headed for the shower, dropping his Summer Whites shirt onto the couch as he passed and his hands already busy with his belt buckle.

Forty minutes later, smelling much better after his shower, freshly attired in an old pair of faded-to-comfort jeans and a loose t-shirt, Harm had polished off a good portion of a frozen but home-made vegetable lasagne, and now settling down on the couch with a bottle of beer, he once more checked his watch and grinned as he leaned forward to pick up the phone.

"_Hawke_s."

"Hey, Florida Girl, how ya doin'?"

"_Hey shyster, you made it back in one piece, then_."

"Just about!" Harm grinned, without thinking the effect his words would have on someone who couldn't see his expression.

"_Harm_!" Beth's voice reflected her alarm, "_What the hell were you doing? I thought you went out there for a court-martial_!"

"I did, I did... I was perfectly safe on board ship, and in the air..."

"_You were flying_?" Beth's voice was accusatory and Harm could see clearly in his mind's eye the narrow-eyed glare she was directing at her innocent phone.

"Oh, no, not in the sense you mean, I meant in transit from USA to Italy and back! Twenty damn' hours in an Air Force C-17," he added bitterly, the resentment at that marathon journey plain in his voice. But he thought 'there's no need to tell her about my trip into enemy country to extract the missing RIO'.

"_So... what was that crack about just surviving_?" Beth demanded.

"Ah... Do you remember me mentioning a Commander Krennick. It was some time ago now, when I'd got back from investigating that female RIO's death that turned out to be murder?"

"No... can't say as I do..."

"Yeah, I did. You asked if I would have to go back to Naples to prosecute the guy who shoved her overboard, and I told you no, that they had a standing prosecutor in Naples. I told you that she had the reputation of being a barracuda?"

"_Oh, yeah! I remember now_!" Beth chuckled, "_But you-all have got to be careful who you say that to, Harm. It is disrespectful words_!"

"It's worse than that," he said gloomily.

"_You haven't gotten yourself into trouble have you_?" Now Beth's voice now resounded with anxiety.

"No, not yet. And never if I can help it! At least not the sort of trouble she could land me, land us both in, I can get into enough trouble all on my own-some! Beth, she's not just a barracuda, she's a dragon! I had to fend off at least four dinner invitations from her while we were ashore, and then when the trial was over – the CAG was found not guilty, by the way – she got orders to return to Falls Church, so she came back to the _Seahawk _with us, and after she cornered me a couple of times in the wardroom, I made damn sure that whenever I left my bunk that Meg was around to chaperone me! Honest, Beth, the way she looked at me I felt like I was some sacrificial maiden tied to a stake for the dragon's dinner!"

The indignation in Harm's voice as well as the absurdity of the image his words had just conjured up were too much for Beth, and she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her.

"Hey! It's not funny!" Harm protested, his indignation rising to new heights.

"_Oh, I know it's not, not really,_" Beth agreed through her laughter, "_But it's the idea of you as a sacrificial maiden; somehow I just don't see you in a filmy negligée helplessly waiting to be eaten by the big, bad dragon_!"

Although he was till inclined to be sulky about her giggles, Harm shuddered, "That is not an idea I ever want to hear again!" he said decidedly, "And if it ever comes to my ears though a third party, then I shall know exactly who to blame for the leak! ¿Entiendes?"[1]

"_¡__Sí, entiendo Commandante!__¡__entiendo_![2] but despite her seeming agreement, Beth's voice was still shaken by her giggles, and Harm had the sinking feeling that as far as she was concerned this was far too good a story not to repeat to her friends. And that meant all sorts of ribald comments the next time he set foot on a carrier.

"¡Muy bien![3]

"_And..._?"

"And what?" Harm asked, confused by the seeming sudden switch in the conversation.

"_And are you reporting her for sexual harassment_?" Beth demanded.

"Uh... no... I don't think so..." Harm responded slowly. He had in fact given a great deal of thought to that very process, but Krennick was sly, she had never said anything that might suggest impropriety when there was a third-party present, and if came down to a case of he said/she said then it was highly unlikely that anything would come of it, save that both he and Krennick would have question marks on their records, and he would have made a very dangerous enemy.

"_Why on earth no_t?" Beth demanded in astonished tones.

"No witnesses," Harm said, "It would be her word against mine. And I … well... I'm an aviator Beth, rough, tough, fearless, cocky... I can't... I just can't go bleating to my CO, 'Please sir, the big, bad, Commander's harassing me!' Not if I want to be taken seriously in the future. It's a bit like your situation down in Pensacola."

"_Yeah... you got a point... I s'pose. But you listen to me shyster, if you ever..._"

"Beth! No! I wouldn't do that to us!" Harm spluttered furiously.

"_You'd better not! In fact, I think I'll make certain that you can't_!"

"Beth?" Harm asked anxiously.

"_Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to do a Bobbit on you! Just stay out of trouble for the next forty-eight hours until I get to DC for the weekend. I can guarantee you that by the time I leave on Sunday, you'll be too exhausted to misbehave_!"

"Beth!" Harm protested.

"_Harmon Rabb, for an aviator and a shyster, you are such a prude_!"

"I am not!" Harm denied emphatically, although his ears had started to burn at the blatantly suggestive tone in Beth's voice.

"_Are too_!" she giggled, but then sobered quickly, "_Seriously Harm, if this woman is at Falls Church now, how difficult is that going to make life for you?_"

"It could make things a bit tricky," Harm admitted, "But I think as long as I've got Meg watching my back, I'll be OK!"

"_OK... if you're sure..._"

"Not one hundred per cent, Beth, but we have to play the hand we're dealt."

"_Yeah, true enough... Now_," her voice became brisker, "_Is there anything else that you need to tell me, or can I get back to my books now?_"

For a moment Harm thought about telling her of his other encounter on the _Seahawk_, but then decided that conversation was one best held face to face and would have to wait until Friday.

"No, nothing else right now... except one thing!" His voice dropped an octave.

In her quarters at Oceana, Beth Hawkes felt a shiver run up her spine at the change of pitch in Harm's voice.

"And what would that be?" she whispered.

"Just that I love you, Florida Girl." Harmon Rabb whispered throatily.

Beth smiled, "And I love you too, shyster!" Beth answered softly, a tender smile curving her lips.

Harm put the phone back in its cradle, a slight frown furrowing his forehead. He hoped to God he'd made the right decision. Bumping into Diane on the _Seahawk_ had been entirely unexpected and a not altogether pleasant surprise. He knew he'd have to talk to her soon, but he had been totally unprepared to see her on board, when as far as he knew, she was buried in some classified underground bunker somewhere. They'd had their conversation, but it hadn't been an easy conversation to hold and despite his long time friend's reaction, he still wasn't sure that he'd handled that situation as well as he could have done, as well as it demanded he should.

**xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx**

Translations:

[1] "Do you understand?"

[2] "Yes, I understand Commander, I understand!"

[3] "Very good!"


End file.
